Pinellas County Community Bands Join Together to Celebrate a Thriving Live Music Scene

Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Contact: Lee Lafleur
727.534.6966[email protected]
Pinellas County Community Bands Join Together to Celebrate a
Thriving Live Music Scene
DUNEDIN, FL. As our country’s education establishment continues to remove creativity and
humankind’s most fundamental forms of expression from curriculums, it is left to those in the
community, including volunteers whose professions are in other industries, to ensure the value
of the arts are passed on to others, just as they have been for millennia.
Tampa Bay is surely one of the most artistically active regions in the nation with three
performing arts centers, remarkable museums and art galleries, several professional and
community orchestras from the Richey Community Orchestra to the Tampa Bay Symphony and,
of course, our very own Florida Orchestra, plus theater companies galore and no short supply of
dance studios.
With so much going on it may seem surprising that the arts continue to struggle maintaining
their value within Western society and humankind as a whole, outside the small circles of those
who participate on a regular basis. Some of the many barriers the arts face include
egocentricity, sometimes referred to as “artistic temperament,” political in-fighting, and the
assumption that performers deserve to be seen. However, the leaders of three of the area’s
most active musical ensembles disagree that such barriers should prevail.
Bill Findeison of the Awesome Second Time Arounders Marching Band, John Bannon of the St.
Petersburg Community Band, and Stephen P Brown of the Dunedin Concert Band are all on the
same page when it comes to sharing live music. “Music as organized sound is probably the most
basic and fundamental form of communication humans have,” says Brown. “When it is plugged
through speakers or headphones, we lose an enormous element of music’s ability to reach us.”
Brown suggests that experiencing music in an environment where instruments and voices can
be heard and felt without an intermediary device directly impacts the way we process our
emotions.
“Of course, there are times and styles and places where electronically reproduced music
definitely has its benefits, too, and I couldn’t live without it!” Brown is quick to add. But it is
clear he is keen to let as many people as possible experience live music for themselves.
Bannon and Findeison agree. The St. Petersburg Community Band is the most active adult
musical ensemble in the region with over 25 concerts every year, and when Findeison started
the Second Time Arounders Marching Band in 1981 little did he know it would become the
largest permanent adult marching band in the world. Bannon, Brown and Findeison talked
about bringing their musicians together to share their music with each other and the
community at large.
As a result, on Saturday, April 9, 2016 all three bands will perform on the Sindoon Stage at the
Dunedin Community Center as part of the “Pinellas Festival of Community Bands,” with thanks
for the support of the City of Dunedin Parks and Recreation Department. Anyone who thinks
music is an essential part of living should experience the tremendous sounds of these three
very different bands– individually and as one large group – as they play traditional, familiar and
modern tunes. “It is a showcase of entertainment provided by participants enjoying a lifetime
of music making,” says Findeison.
The music begins at 3pm but picnics on the lawn can begin much sooner. Bring a blanket or
some lawn chairs, fill yourself from the food truck, and be sure to make a generous donation to
help the hundreds of volunteer performers on stage share live music with your neighbors, and
help build a better society for all.
• Date: Saturday, April 9, 2016
• Time: 3pm-4:30pm
• Place: Sindoon Stage, Dunedin Community Center, 1920 Pinehurst Road, Dunedin, FL
• Performers: St. Petersburg Community Band, Dunedin Concert Band, Awesome Second
Time Arounders Marching Band
• Details: Free to attend, donations invited, bring a lawn chair, food truck available.
• For more information, visit TheDCB.com/PinellasFestival16
Contact: Lee Lafleur
727.534.6966[email protected]
Website: TheDCB.com/PinellasFestival16